5 Moments in Time
by ModelOmega
Summary: A multi-episode detail of the good and bad, but mostly bad times in the life shared by Tiki and Justin.
1. Chapter 1

Author Note: I do not own Fire Emblem, or any other intellectual property besides this story.

Pre: In the vein of one of my favourite movies ever, Pulp Fiction, here is a rough chronicle of the life of Tiki and my avatar Justin, starting in the middle, and ending wherever it makes the most dramatic sense.

You'll have to piece it together yourselves.

For the sake of simplicity assume the avatar is just the default but with the longer hair option (I forget the number)

**Relive, Rejoice, Rebirth, Remember, Regret**

5 Expressions, 5 Chapters, 1 Author, 1 Story, 2 People, Infinitely many moments

**Relive**

The night that Justin passed on could have been any other night had it not been their anniversary. Tiki might have expected cards, cheers, visitors, one day more just to sit on the swing outside and hold hands until he was snoring on her shoulder. Normally Tiki would wake up tired, drowsy, a side effect of her husband's ailment, heart chilling coughs and sputters thrusting him from the precipice of life and death seemingly every night, and leading her to offer meaningless comfort and encouragement as he desperately tried to get sleep.

This had been affecting Justin for nearly the past four years and although Tiki wished that his suffering could end, she also didn't want to him to leave for he was the only one left in her life, the others taken from her by force or left behind in time's wake. Every day was a battle against death, and it took it's toll on both of them, Justin's hair was mostly greyed and his once vibrant face pale and sunken, while having run herself ragged looking after him Tiki had lost a lot of weight to worry and anxiety, and was almost as frail and sickly looking as her husband.

Priests and Apothecaries tried to help with their offerings, but Tiki knew none of it helped Justin, and long ago resigned herself to the fact that he was going to leave very soon. But she was most crestfallen to find that he left in the middle of the night, and in turn finally give Tiki a full episode of sleep, perhaps the only gift Justin was still able to give to her, sad, and ruined by her tears as she felt the unusual coldness next to her on the bed. Quietly she decided to send him away, and outside rain pitter-pattered as Tiki painstakingly dug out a grave for her husband; there would be no funeral, no procession, no grief, it was her final gift for Justin, one she assembled with two hands and a shovel, so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even see or hear the other.

A wet hand grasped Tiki's own, startling her, "Justin!" She cried!

A puzzled looking man with white hair stared at her, "Let me help." He stated, taking the shovel from her and resuming the digging.

Another tear fell from her eye, this man wasn't hers, and Tiki's brain desperately tried to grasp who the person was before her.

Grandson; is what she came up with.

Together they carried Justin's body to the crude hole and lowered him into it, and just before her grandson scooped the dirt back in she begged him to wake up, say it was all just a bad joke and take her back inside for breakfast. Thunk, thunk, thunk the dirt made upon is body, and nary a word was spoken as Tiki was led back inside her house. Inside she shared a cup of cocoa with her grandson, after which he grabbed his hat and strode off to leave.

"I'm sorry for your loss, but I have to go to, I'm not supposed to be here." He solemnly stated.

Before Tiki could ask what he meant the door shut, and when she looked outside it there was no one there, as if he had disappeared into thin air.

Tiki retreated back into her now vacant room and took a silver locket off of the small table by the bed. Tracing it's edges and the shard of dragonstone inside seemed to bring her back to reality, that her life had once again gone full circle, and was alone once more.

She left Ylisstol shortly after.

Post: I based the concept of this chapter partially off the ordeals my granduncle (and family) went through as he died from bladder cancer, it wasn't nice and I hope this left you with a similar feeling, there's far too many happy fics here and I feel it's my need to inject some cynicism into the mix.

If by the end of this story you hate me, then it will have served it's purpose.


	2. Chapter 2

Pre: Must… finish… chapter… by Monday!

**Rejoice**

Too many things had to come together at once for this to be mere coincidence, surreal was too strong; suspicious was the term Tiki agreed on. Here she was at the altar, ready to start the ceremony when out from the blue a figure runs up to her. Clad in a pure white suit and sword still slung by his side, Justin had returned from his absence ready and willing to give away Morgan at her wedding. It almost seemed to steal the show as the crowd cheered wildly at Tiki and Justin's embrace just before the show, whispers of forgiveness and joy exchanged between them.

Yet there was work to, quickly straightening his suit out from the run and hug, Justin took his place at the start with his daughter's hand in his own and walked her up the aisle, both so giddy they almost skipped up the carpet to the aisle. Once there Justin found himself face to face with the groom, _"Owain," _he recalled, a charming young man, he had witnessed his frantic attempt to sway Morgan to his side, and found that the two of them were a perfect fit for each other.

Always one for the theatrics, when the priest called for two to kiss Owain swept Morgan off her feet and kissed her horizontally, legs stuck near straight into the air. It was after the wedding that Justin and Tiki really got a chance to get back together; he had been gone only about 2 months yet so much had happened since then. So Tiki filled in Justin about the exploits of the other Shepherds as watched the various couples dance at the procession, but only sort of half listening as continued to watch Owain and Morgan.

Eventually Tiki got tired at not being in his gaze and turned Justin to face her, almost tearing up as she professed her fear that he wouldn't ever return to him.

Later that night after the party was long over, Morgan paid one last visit to her parents before retiring with her new husband, telling them that the two would go exploring Ylisse for their honeymoon, even though Owain insisted it was a journey to "stay his sword hand."

Back in Yllistol Keep Justin was greeted warmly by the staff and soldiers still present in the halls and courtyards, yet grumbled slightly at how much attention he had been getting since the war, especially as Tiki told him a biography about him was recently printed and sold, written by Miriel and Laurent along with expert testimony from most of the Shepherds.

"Did you say anything about me?" Justin asked his wife.

"Just that you were a great man, and reassuring people that I was still waiting for you to return." Tiki shyly explained.

Justin was surprised; he asked Tiki if anyone else had tried to court her since he was away. Tiki went on to explain that ever since it was announced that the Voice of Naga was to be wed every noble or official from Valm to Regna Ferox grumbled over how they never thought of courting her, and that once he was "out of the picture" she was near swarmed with offers. Justin cursed under his breath, taken aback by what he had nearly put Tiki through, and was about to apologize to her again before she silenced him with her finger on his lips.

"You're back now, so forget about it, just focus on the here and now." She stated.

Both were all too happy to put the past behind them and start life anew, "begin again," it was what Justin had engraved on the rings, almost anticipated this event, which got Tiki thinking.

"You were so prepared for the wedding; and your arrival was too perfect. You must have kept me waiting, didn't you?" Tiki asked.

"I would've come back right away, but certain forces conspired to make my entrance as dramatic as possible." Justin explained, casually offering a glance to the skies above, then walked with Tiki back to his old room, still furbished, another piece of his revealed life that waited for his arrival.

"One of these days I will finish all of these books." Justin proclaimed to the menacing stack atop his desk right before succumbing to the pull from his bedded wife.

Post: Damn this took me way too long to crank out, long story short most of my "creative time" is between 8 and 10 PM, just after dinner, siblings are asleep, no interruptions and I'm not too tired to think. Problem is the past week I've been busy during that time nearly every day, mostly with volunteer work for the BC NDP, phone and door canvassing. So when I get home it's anywhere from 10 to 11 and I have no drive or energy to type, that and I've been too busy at other possible times playing through every Mega Man Zero game to get another sense for the series, as I plan to write stuff on that as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Pre: Starting this at 11:44AM, Sunday May 26, damn I've really been busy.

**Rebirth**

Tiki never received many visitors anymore, ever since the threat of Grima ended her duties as the voice of Naga had unofficially ended, people didn't need Naga's blessing or protection anymore it seemed. It was a nice thought, but as days stretched to months stretched to years Tiki almost considered lying down and resuming her deep sleep, as it was only in her dreams with her family that she ever had any comfort anymore. But the few who still took the time to visit her, whether they are old friends, priests seeking guidance, or even lost and weary folk looking for solace or help in their matters gave Tiki just enough conviction to stay a while longer.

Tiki rarely stayed in one place for longer than a few days anymore, but since she was well known throughout all of the lands she was warmly welcomed in almost every town, village or city she happened upon, except in Plegia, who still housed a minute amount of Grimleal that led her to avoid the country entirely. By now most of the human companions she had grown to know through her battles had passed away, with just the current time children left in their wake. Tiki would visit them from time to time, but it was never the same as the ones she knew, this Lucina in particular was an entirely different person that barely registered in Tiki's mind.

It was the a new age that Tiki resided in, one that felt unfamiliar and cold, enough that she contemplated leaving it all behind several times, but fear won out against conviction then, almost seeming to trap her in a place she didn't want to be, a prison she created for herself after barely escaping the one life made for her.

Then there was a chance for her to be free again, Tiki received a rather strange visit from a wanderer like herself, he was a writer that travelled the world looking for inspiration, and politely asked if she could help him write a book about her life and experiences. She was surprised, certainly everyone knew about her history by now, and she would still be around for many generations to tell the story on her own, yet agreed in an instant to work with the writer she had just met.

So for the first time in many years Tiki took up residence in a common room run by a local church, and twice weekly the writer would come by and take notes as Tiki preached about her life, as well as give critique on sections presented to her. Surprisingly on the fourth week the writer came back to say he was finished, while presenting her with the manuscript of the book, yet she had not told him anything past Justin's death.

Skimming through the book confirmed this; it ended right after Morgan's wedding, almost as if the dark times were intentionally left out as to preserve a happy ending. When Tiki questioned the writer about this he wasn't fazed at all, and spoke, "Your story doesn't end with your child's death and your husband's departure… my love."

When Tiki next awoke she was in a bed with the writer by her side, seated on a stool caressing her hand with his own, and she finally replied to him, "Justin? Is that really you?"

"Yes and no." He stated.

The writer explained that he was originally from Plegia, born to one of the sole groups of Grimleal that remained in the country, and when he was fourteen he was cast out by his own father for questioning the religion's value compared to what he had heard of Naga's. He spent a few years in Ylisse before something troubling came across him, every night his normal dreams were replaced with something else, he was living out the life of another man, and in that man life was Tiki.

A small amount of research provided him with the answer, the writer was living out the life of Justin through his dreams, from waking up on the field all the way to his death, and on that he decided to find Tiki and share this with her. Tiki didn't know what to say, before her was a man who could be called the reincarnation of her loved one, but she also knew he wasn't the same, this man had messy brown hair while Justin had slick silver hair, he was a bit scrawny while Justin was lean and this person she hardly knew while she built a life together with Justin.

"I understand if this is a bit hard for you to deal with, but I truly love you, and not because of the life I lived out." The man spoke to her.

"I've been looking for a reason to continue on, why would I pass on one that came directly to me?" Tiki claimed, and the man beside her smiled.

Cautiously, the two reached closer and closer until the man gave Tiki a hug, and thanked her, where upon Tiki finally asked him what his name was.

"My name? Well it's…"

And then Tiki woke up, realized where she was, and began to cry. But beside her in the bed, she heard, "Is something wrong dear?"

Post: Finished at 3:38PM, Sunday May 26th

Man I have been so busy the past *checks timeline* **3 weeks**. Though it's somewhat my fault as I did have some amount of time to do this, to put it bluntly the BC election on May 14th was a failure, that stupid Clark gets another term to screw the province over, and even after all the time I spent helping Mr. Trasolini (my MLA) out he didn't get his riding, I even scrutinized a polling station from **8AM till 9PM**. Then my mom got re-married after a few days stay at a family cottage on Bowen Island and then went on a week long honeymoon, which meant I had to look after my siblings along with my aunt, and the whole while it's been hectic.

Oh and I also beat the secret Apotheosis (The Strongest One's Name) battles, and it was satisfying, I might have to type something up about that.


End file.
